


Shirt

by Beth Harker (Beth_Harker)



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Canon Era, M/M, Post canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 04:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17196788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Harker/pseuds/Beth%20Harker
Summary: A tale of the shirt that David lost somewhere between “Once and for All” and the end of the movie.





	Shirt

“Mouth with you?” The question, asked by Racetrack Higgins, is a particularly stupid one. It is nearly eleven at night, and Jack has been reading in bed for the past half hour.

“I keep him hidden under the blankets,” Jack answers. He flips through his book, not bothering to look at Racetrack.

“Whatever makes ya happy.”

Jack doesn’t have time to say anything, because Racetrack chooses that moment to lob a shirt at him. It is a familiar one, and Jack has to pay attention to it, because it lands right on top of his pages.

“Where’d you get this?”

The shirt is a light shade of blue, with deeper blue pin stripes. There are blotches of ink on it, sweat stains, grime and discoloration, but Jack guesses it’s in ok shape for something that’s been missing for the last four months.

“Some old guy beckoned me over while I was sellin’ and handed it to me. One of Pulitzer’s goons.”

“What’d he say? Did he threaten you?” Jack sits up in bed now. The truth is that he and David had both worried about the shirt when David had remembered, two weeks after the strike, just where he’d left it. They’d even tried to break in again to get it, and nearly broken their necks in the wild escape from Pulitzer’s guards that went on after.

“You’d figure that he would, huh?”

“So he did? What’d he say? What’s he want? Did he say anything about Dave?”

“Relax. He said us kids put out a good paper, and that his boss man sends his love but doesn’t know about Dave undressing in his basement. He’s gonna keep it a secret. It was that one that you talked terms with right after you was finished with Pulitzer. The old one with the ugly disposition. Well, they’s all old and ugly over there, but you know who I mean.”

Jack does know who Race means. Sikes or Sites or Spike or something like that. His disposition hadn’t even been that ugly, especially compared to Pulitzer’s other cronies. That isn’t to say Jack wants to hang around with him, but Jack guesses old Spike isn’t so bad.

“That’s alright then,” Jack says. He flops back in bed, shirt clutched in his hands. He brings it up to his nose, and then sneezes so hard that the book falls off the bed with a thud.“

"Guess you’re allergic to David,” Race says. “I ain’t pickin’ up the book by the way.”

“Good. I’m allergic to smart asses. If you touch my stuff I’ll probably break out in hives.”

Jack swings down from his bunk, resigned to the idea that Race is going to be as unhelpful as he possibly can.

“Why’d you sniff his shirt anyway?” Racetrack asks.

This is a fair question. Jack had barely even noticed himself doing it before it had backfired, but he guessed it was a strange thing to do.

“You like the scent of slightly stale David Jacobs in the evening?” Racetrack goads, when Jack doesn’t answer him right away.

“At least it’s better than the smell of overripe Racetrack Higgins every night of the year,” Jack answers.

“Even if he makes you sneeze?”

“Even if he makes me sneeze.”


End file.
